2008-10-10

The council of Machida City in Tokyo has submitted a proposal to the national government for seeking to establish a regulation on Google Street View.

The proposal says it is certainly useful at some points but really problematic in terms of privacy and security.

Google Street View has started at this August in Japan, and I have no idea if other local governments have same idea or not.

Considering above, it's difficult to say something for sure. It might be a small reaction throughout Japan, but what I felt is such feedback from GSV is really Japanese-like.

In the US, according to the news, people are accepting GSV because such photos are taken from public roads. Same scenes can be seen if a person go there.

I can understand Machida City's proposition. It is very important thing to know and think of how residents in the real world are feeling by GSV because pro-net people sometimes skip what not-net people feel as troubles.

Despite that, I feel sad a little. Probably this is because I am inclined to Anglo-Saxon's personalities and pro-net people.

From my view, Japanese dare not accept new-comers in such cases. And sometimes they don't see the possibilities from them. They just refuse it.

It is possible to say such Japanese behaviors are "prudence," and I also believe that that's a virtue of Japanese. The problem is such virtue and rejection against new things are intertwined closely.